Delaware

pending

Summary

Delaware has no formal ethics opinion on AI but has been unusually active through its court infrastructure: the Delaware Supreme Court reformed the DCLT in November 2023 to focus on AI, adopted an Interim Policy on GenAI for judicial personnel (October 2024), and the Court of Chancery issued An v. Archblock (April 2025) warning that fabricated citations are sanctionable. Delaware adopted the ABA technology competence comment to Rule 1.1 in 2013, ahead of most states. The Delaware AI Commission (HB 333, July 2024) develops AI governance recommendations for state agencies.

Applicable ABA Model Rules

Rule 1.1
Rule 1.6
Rule 3.3
Rule 5.1
Rule 5.3

Carrier Implications

Delaware's codified tech competence duty (since 2013) means AI-related incompetence is a viable malpractice theory. Court of Chancery scrutiny of citations elevates risk for firms in corporate, M&A, and books-and-records work nationwide, given Chancery's national influence.

This summary is informational only. Verify the primary source before relying on this entry. Bar rules differ meaningfully by state. Consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Delaware has no formal DSBA ethics opinion on AI. Its court infrastructure has been more active: the Delaware Commission on Law and Technology (DCLT) was reformed in November 2023 to focus on AI and technology competence; the Delaware Supreme Court adopted an Interim Policy on Generative AI for judicial personnel in October 2024; and Delaware adopted the ABA technology competence comment to Rule 1.1 effective March 2013, one of the first states to do so.

The Court of Chancery’s April 2025 opinion in An v. Archblock (Vice Chancellor Will) is the highest-profile Delaware AI ruling. The court held that submission of a filing with fictitious citations is sanctionable, declined to sanction a pro se litigant, and imposed a forward-looking GenAI disclosure requirement. Given Chancery’s national influence in corporate law, this opinion will be cited well beyond Delaware.

Bottom line for a 5-50 attorney Delaware firm: No mandatory AI-specific rules yet, but Delaware is not a blank slate. The tech-competence duty has been codified since 2013, the Court of Chancery has put litigants on notice that hallucinated citations draw sanctions, and the reformed DCLT is actively working on formal guidance.

Last verified: April 23, 2026